- For some time now, observers have wondered if the NFL
would ever follow the example of its major American sports peers and establish
a viable minor league or developmental league system. The reality of a
full-fledged minor league system is still light years from ever happening, but
apparently professional football will launch a spring development league in
2017, providing a place for aspiring NFLers to develop their skills and
possibly earn the attention of teams interested in bringing them in for
training camp in the summer. The NFL Management Council notified teams that the
unimaginatively named "Spring League" will have four teams consisting
of veteran free-agent players and those four teams will train at Greenbrier
Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, from April 5 through April 26.
It’s a short-term endeavor in a place known for attracting tourists rather than
aspiring professional football players seeking a second chance in the league,
but this won't be a league in which teams can develop their own young players.
None of the NFL’s 32 clubs will be allowed to allocate players to the league,
so all of those taking part will theoretically be free agents who are trying to
prove that they can still contribute to a team enough to justify a roster spot.
During the course of the three weeks of the Spring League, the four teams will
play a total of six games, providing a limited chance to see if any of the
players are worth picking up…….
- The only flaw in Russian despot/President Vlad Putin’s
bold proclamation to an annual end-of-year meeting Thursday with defense chiefs
is that he apparently made it with a shirt on. Putin, in the dictator’s version
of a company retreat, told the leaders of his country’s military that their
forces can overpower any potential foe but should still strengthen their
nuclear arsenal. "We can say with certainty: We are stronger now than any
potential aggressor," Putin told the meeting. "Anyone." The
despot’s remarks came at the tail end of a year in which tensions between
Russia and the West have remained on edge over the civil war in Syria, with
Putin ramping up his rhetoric amidst allegations of Russian hacking and
interference in the just-completed American presidential election. Topics such as
Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and surreptitious support of separatists in
eastern Ukraine, Russia launching an air offensive in Syria to support
President Bashar Assad and Russia conducting a flurry of military drills near
its borders this past year have only amplified tensions. This gathering, held
at the defense ministry's headquarters in Moscow, featured Putin declaring that
Russia should be swift in "adjusting plans to neutralize potential threats
to our country." The current story is that Russia is merely responding to
a growing NATO threat, which even Putin can’t actually believe. "We need
to enhance the combat capability of strategic nuclear forces, primarily by
strengthening missile complexes that will be guaranteed to penetrate existing
and future missile defense systems," Putin said. Once Putin finished his
grandstanding at the meeting, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu presented an
annual report that lauded Russian military achievements in Syria and ongoing
efforts to modernize the army……….
- Could the Monkeys be back together? Word on the social
media street is that Arctic Monkeys have been spotted around their native
Sheffield, enjoying each other’s company and a few nights out on the town and
sparking rumors that they may have commenced work on their first album in
nearly four years. They released “AM” back in 2013 and toured in support of the
album, but elected not to follow that up with another album, instead staying
busy with side-projects – as Matt Helders played with Iggy Pop for the ‘Post
Pop Depression’ album and tour, while Alex Turner released an album and EP with
The Last Shadow Puppets. Yet last summer, revived rumors of Arctic Monkeys
returning to the studio together rose up despite Turner insisting that there
was no rush to record a new release. “No, there aren’t really, not yet,” he
said when asked about plans for the band’s sixth album. “But there will be at
some point. I mean, we’ll see with that. No rush.” Taking sightings around
Sheffield and various social media posts as definitive evidence that a new
album is underway is the height of optimistic speculation, especially amongst
those in the band’s hometown, but for one of the best indie rock bands on the
scene, the prospect of new music after nearly four years apart is something
worth looking forward to…….
- Do NOT f*ck with Miss Miami Lakes. Beauty queens are known
for going hard and possessing an extreme sense of entitlement, but perhaps no
one embodies that ideal of taking minimal actual achievement and blending it
with A-lister boorish behavior quite as well as Vanessa Barcelo, who is charged
with attacking a man during a drunken party at her home. Barcelo was arrested
and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery
and battery, all stemming from an incident in which a party at her home got out
of control in a hurry. The Miss Florida USA 2017 contestant was reportedly
hosting a party when a guest raised her ire - possibly by not being attractive
enough, maybe by being not nearly stylish enough - and inspired Barcelo to
demand that the man leave. According to the police report, most of the guests,
including Barcelo, were "very intoxicated,” which goes a long way toward
explaining why Barcelo and another man allegedly pushed the guest down the
stairs and Barcelo then swung a baseball bat at the guest and punched him. For
her part, Barcelo denied hitting the man while he was on the ground. If this is
how she’s acting now, when the only thing she’s won is an über-small-time beauty
pageant and is merely one of many contestants for Miss Florida USA, just
imagine what kind of over-the-top behavior she would be exhibiting if she
actually won something that actually matters in the beauty pageant world……..
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